So, take note, Cuomo 56, and Cuomo 52′s conclusion: “One word keeps emerging as the best solution: partnerships – partnerships between government and the private sector, and partnerships between levels of government. Here in New York we have led the way in development of partnerships in the name of preservation and conservation. Here in New York we have proven that “partnership parks” work.”

Bray will be on The Capitol Pressroom with Susan Arbetter this morning. You can listen here.

Here’s the speech:

Mario M. Cuomo, Governor, State of New York

As we move toward the third millennium, decades of history stack up behind us — rich, diverse history, reflected brilliantly in our buildings, landscapes, artifacts and people. The mosaic of places and things that constitutes our identity is forever expanding: 18th-Century farmsteads, 19th-Century battlefields, 20th-Century downtowns, canals, factory complexes, grand theatres, roadside diners, even hydroelectric plants. In twenty years, our definition of historic treasure will be expanded by yet another generation. Who can guess which of our creations our children and grandchildren will covet? The passenger terminal at JFK? The suburban neighborhoods of baby-boomers? Looming office complexes of glass and steel? Howard Johnson’s?

At the same time our chest of treasures is growing, forces that would conspire against the preservation of our historic jewels are gaining strength too. These are not evil forces, they are simple facts of life. Opportunities for housing, employment, investment and growth are the rights of each generation. Sometimes, as all of you know so well, these forces clash with the need to preserve. As a result, our national mosaic has a few chips in it grand theatres, old ballparks, battlefields and sometimes whole downtowns lost.

Our challenges are two-fold. The first is fundamental: to keep our determination to preserve our past ever so much stronger than the forces that would consume it. The second is the subject of this week’s gathering: in the face of dwindling budgets and the crosswinds of change, to find innovative ways to preserve the manifestations of our past— to shepherd the treasures we have created and inherited safely on to those who will follow.

Traditionally, we have looked to government to stop, or at least minimize, the loss of our historic resources. In New York, I am particularly proud of the job we have done. Our Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has for five consecutive years received the Nation’s highest appropriation for federal preservation funding. In other words, “We’re Number One”. During the past five years, we have committed more than $48 million from the 1986 Environmental Quality Bond Act to grants for preservation and urban cultural parks. Another $56 million has gone to municipal parks projects. Our State historic preservation law is one of the best in the country; it makes preservation a priority in the day-to-day business of state government.

Now, however, governments at every level — including this State government — are faced with shrinking revenues. Yet demands on government for housing, health care, roads and dozens of other priorities, including preservation, grow every day. The days when the National Park Service or state agencies, like New York’s Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation or Department of Environmental Conservation, could simply acquire property to protect it are behind us. Grant programs everywhere are suffering. In short, individual government entities are losing their ability to carry the preservation banner single-handedly.

Beyond harsh fiscal realities, there is another reason that government — be it State, federal, or local — cannot by itself assure that our most precious historic and natural resources will survive. During the past decade, there has been a growing recognition that preserving history means more than just saving a single site or area. Rather, we now recognize that an entire area or region, like our Hudson River Valley, the Adirondacks or what we now know as the Hudson-Mohawk Urban Cultural Park, can constitute in its totality a resource of preeminent importance. These resources sprawl across governmental jurisdictions, and include a patchwork of public and private ownership. Yet their value to us and to our society is incalculable.

These three things – our growing chest of historic treasures, diminishing government resources, and a new appreciation of the importance of a regional view of planning, preservation and development — have pushed us to find new approaches to preservation and interpretation. One word keeps emerging as the best solution: partnerships – partnerships between government and the private sector, and partnerships between levels of government. Here in New York we have led the way in development of partnerships in the name of preservation and conservation. Here in New York we have proven that “partnership parks” work.

New York State’s Urban Cultural Parks aka Heritage Area Program has used the partnership of State and local governments and the private sector to preserve some of New York’s most important and impressive historic downtowns. The State provides technical assistance, grant money and marketing. The local community provides interpretive staff, capital improvements, and sponsors special events and street festivals. And the private-sector puts the buildings to work as shops, offices, museums or cultural centers. In short, we use the unique attributes of the historic downtown to help the downtown save itself. We fulfill our own needs for the growth and development of the community, and at the same time fulfill our responsibility to preserve a crucial link between past, present and future generations.

New York has also used partnerships to address the preservation and conservation needs of larger, multi-jurisdictional areas. The Hudson-Mohawk Urban Cultural Park — RiverSpark — is an alliance of seven communities that collectively represent one of the nation’s greatest centers of labor and industry. The Adirondack Park, at 6 million acres — one of the largest parks in the country, includes thousands of lakes and some of the most beautiful landscapes you will ever see, as well as dozens of towns and villages and acres of privately-owned land. It is perhaps the queen of partnership parks. And it works.

That magnificent resource — the Adirondacks — is home to thousands of residents and welcomes millions of visitors a year, but at the same time retains much of the majesty the Iroquois knew centuries ago.

Our most recent exploration into the world of partnerships is perhaps our most ambitious yet The Hudson River Valley Greenway. The Greenway, I hope, will become New York’s emerald necklace — a place where the resources of one community become the resources of a broader community, where the value of the whole transcends the sum of the parts. We are now working on a plan for the Greenway that will bring local governments into regional alliance to guide the development and preservation of the Valley as a whole. Once mature, the Greenway will physically link urban centers to natural areas, preserve agricultural landscapes, and interpretively link the many wonderful historic sites the Valley has to offer.

Cooperation between governments and the private sector is no longer a goal, it’s a necessity. The fate of many of our national treasures — including some of our State and National parks, threatened as they are by inappropriate development, deteriorating air and water quality and lack of funding — is to a large degree in the hands of local government and the private sector. We in government simply cannot protect these gems on our own. I hope that as you tour our partnership parks, you will be inspired by our efforts.
In welcoming you to Albany, the capital of New York State, I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay. But I would also impart upon your work here a sense of urgency; for while our resources to preserve have diminished, our responsibility to pass our historic and natural treasures to our children has not. Fulfilling that obligation will be no easy matter in the years to come. Our success will depend in large measure on people like you, whose energy and imagination will forge new and better ways to use our limited resources in the name of preservation and conservation. I join with Deputy Secretary Bracken, Director Ridenour, and Commissioner Lehman in wishing you good fortune and much success in your important work.

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